Boston Red Sox 2013: 11 Players to keep an eye on this spring

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 10:47 AM

One year ago the question was whether or not Jacoby Ellsbury could equal or improve upon his outstanding 2011 season. In 2011 no American League hitter garnered more MVP votes than Jacoby Ellsbury. He finished second in the voting behind starting pitcher Justin Verlander.

This spring Ellsbury faces a whole different set of questions.

Can he bounce back from a 2012 season that was plagued by injuries and subpar performance?

Will he be in a Red Sox uniform all season?

The second question is out of Ellsbury's hands. Only Ben Cherington and the Red Sox owners know whether or not Ellsbury will play for the team through this season. He's a free agent when the season ends, and as Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe wrote on Monday it appears that be won't be back in Boston in 2014.

The first one is a challenge that Ellsbury can address head-on.

Jacoby Ellsbury has prodigious talent. That's something that all baseball observers have known ever since he burst onto the scene late in the 2007 season.

Over his career he's stolen 70 bases, hit over 30 home runs, he has driven in over 100 runs before and scored more than 100 runs as well. Ellsbury has hit over .300, and had more than 200 hits in a single season as well.

"Potential" is a loaded word. By the time a player is 29 years old his potential is usually realized. That might not be the case with Ellsbury who has lost large parts of two of the last three seasons to injuries.

If Ellsbury has another injury-plagued season in 2013 he could cost himself a free agent deal worth in excess of $100 million. If Ellsbury's 2013 is similar to his 2011 then Ellsbury could generate the types of trade offers too tempting for the Red Sox to turn down.

Red Sox fans will be watching Ellsbury closely in spring training, but so will the general managers of nearly every major league team with designs on making the playoffs in 2013.

It's a huge year for Jacoby Ellsbury, his long term future in the major leagues hinges on how he performs and his ability to stay healthy.
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)